Canned food storage ideas

[blissful]

There's a lot of practical ways people store canned food.
Storing under beds in boxes or roll out storage.
Storing in closets stacking cases.
Storing in the garage in cabinets or shelves.
Storing in a basement pantry or separate room on the first floor (unused bedroom or office).
And storing in the upstairs kitchen pantry.
How do you store yours?

I store mine in a basement pantry, some in cases, wall to wall shelves. This house happens to have an area of the basement under the kitchen nook that juts out, cement blocks on three sides, and we built a wall across with a door for the 4th side. This keeps it cool (no heating ducts in it) around 55-59 deg F.

I keep the bottom shelf on the kitchen pantry for canned food from the basement pantry.

Important upkeep: Check it regularly for rodents and check fresh produce for rot (like squash). This fall we had a mouse, so we baited the traps and now the mouse is gone RIP. Fall is the most common season, when it is getting colder outside, that rodents look for a way in.

Rotating goods: oldest food pulled forward, newest food to the back. Check to make sure there are no unsealed jars. We came across two this week. I went through all the canned food and removed anything from 2019 and anything that we probably won't use. I emptied jars, washed them, disinfected them, put them in cases to store for the next time I can food.

Inventory: checking to see what is in storage and what you WISH there was in storage is a good starting place. With that in mind, plans can be made for gardening for the next gardening season or watching for specials when shopping.

What works for your canned food storage area?

 

[larry_stewart]

Mine are mostly in my basement. I dont can a lot of things, but the things I can I have a lot of ( pickles, salsa, string beans, jam/ jelly.
My basement stays relatively cool year round.
I keep a coup of each in the fridge, and restock from the basement as I run low.
Dried goods usually keep in the cupboard ( mushrooms, herbs/ spices).
Dehydrated tomatoes I freeze in a bag.

I still have some potatoes, and soups from last year, which still look good and are sealed.

 

[Aunt Bea]

Those days are gone for your old Aunt Bea.

Tomato plants were pulled by the roots,before a hard frost, and hung in the garage. We always got a few tomatoes but it was hardly worth the effort.

We had a dedicated room in an old unheated cellar with a dirt floor that we used to store some fresh fruits, vegetables, and canned goods.

Jams and jellies, sealed with paraffin, were stored in a cool kitchen cupboard.

Hard winter squash were stored on the floor in a dry unheated second floor bedroom.

Parsnips and some carrots were left in the ground covered with mulch and dug in the spring.

Some stored fruits and vegetables were eventually canned or frozen to extend their shelf life.

Our biggest problem was storing too much and not using it in a logical fashion.

You might enjoy some of the old books by Nancy and Mike Bubel that deal with food storage and homestead life.